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Son's learning on a traditional board so I want to get something to 'rad dad' on in the fringes of the park.
I'm thinking about a 27" Penny Nickel in instead of a wooden deck as I'm guessing the plastic Nickel will have some flex and will make things a bit smoother and surfer.
I haven't ridden either - so is that a fair call?
What the ones with the really narrow trucks that were trendy a couple of years back? The trend disappeared for a reason... they're crap.
Get something like a Z-Flex if you're after something cheap just for cruising around on
If they are anything like their 1980s brethren, don't cack-footed-ly try to jump it up a curb as it will snap, and you will fall flat on your face and you will look like a fool in front of all your mates as blood pours from your nose...
from my direct experience...
pennys, as in the actual brand not the generic term, are excellent. i was very sceptical but my son insisted on one and when i had a go i was very impressed.
BUT... they are really small both legnth and width and i would not recommend one at all for an adult. there is a bigger version i think, 29" maybe, but again i think you can do better.
you would be far better off getting a 66-40" cruiser if by bark you mean a literal park, or if a skapepark then something 30-36" and a min of 9" wide. ideally get softer (90a or so for park, 78a for road) 60mm wheels. avoid modern street popsicles.
that said, if its just cruising on the flat penny make a really nice pintail cruiser thats a bit longer and wider.
at the end of the day all hugely depends on your budget and what you want it for.
guys, dont knock them, actual penny boards are excellent and really well made. and trust me i am a complete skateboard snob, if its not indys and an alva its not a skateboard in my opinion.
They are a quality item, but the're just rubbish to ride!
Wheels will make the biggest difference to the ride quality. Go big and soft if you want smooth. Loads of boards available for every type of skating nowadays.
Riding off a curb is about as much air as it will ever see.
Also there is a pumptrack (Bristol - Cumberland basin) that I would love to learn how to ride on a board. Looks so fun. I've seen a few small cruisers on there before.
As above Penny and other companies do a bigger plastic deck that is 27" and has wider 4" trucks. I haven't seen one in the flesh but on youtube it looks a lot longer and wider than the penny.
The non-penny brand decks are cheap 30-50£ but if I'm gonna buy a lump of plastic I wanna know I'm gonna like using it.
Just watched that youtube vid above. God I wish I could skate!
"Penny Skateboards Official Advertisement"
Yeah, they're not gonna show some kid riding it for a day then bunging it in the garage to get covered in cobwebs, are they 😉
all i can say is that having skated since 1975 i scoffed at pennys when i saw them originally, my exact quote was 'plastic completes were sh"t then and they are sh"t now' so as you can imagine when my kid decided he wanted one i dragged him around every shop that sold repro boards (and we are talking some very nice sims and g&s replicas ) trying to talk him out of it.
so he got his penny and was skating the local carpark one night, i was on my run around cruiser at the time (skatebuilt timewap, bennets and tunnel rocks), and i grabbed a go on the penny. a bit small yes, but the deck was solid, the trucks well made and turned beautifully but more than anything the penny wheels rolled nicer than my equivalent duro and way more expensive tunnels.
i have dozens of skates lying around, a lifetime of collecting, 70s fibreflex to carbon composite slalom boards and everything in between, but pennys i rate them.
i ride a Penny copy - because i am a cheapo.....£30 quid ish- excellent fun, fast and twisty - love them - have not used my much larger Sector 9, present i did not pay for it, for ages and is hung up in the garage purely for when the children might be interested.
Ok, fair enough Gav, but, if you were the OP and you didn't have a board for cruising round with your kid - is a Penny what you would go out and buy? Because it's "smoother and surfier"? I personally wouldn't, but he should go with the man with more experience's opinion, obviously! (not sarcasm, if it sounded that way!) 🙂
If I were you I would just get a normal board, at least 9" wide though as stated above, with softish largeish wheels and a thin rubber shock pad between trucks and board. This will be smooth and quiet and provide you with plenty of fun just for cruising around on, though capable of much much more should you ever progress. God I miss skateboarding.
If you're still looking Earl - Sportpursuit have some pretty decent looking Shaun White branded cruisers and long boards on sale at the mo - the cruisers are only £32.99 (plus p&p)
Sports direct have the 27" penny nickel for £32 plus postage, I've got one and it's nice, fast and smooth, rolls silently, no need to do tricks. Tighten the trucks up a bit though.
Now I just need to learn to stop pushing mongo, tough after 35 years...
I picked up 28 inch wooden cruiser. Spent a few hours on it now. Its OK. Stable. Turns well. But it doesn't have that flexy feel I was looking for. I.e. it feels like ALU and I was looking for steel.
Thanks for the heads up.
Wish I knew where my old Peralta Bones wheels went to, although I’ve still got a set of blue Kryptonics upstairs, the deck’s an Alva, IIRC, not sure about the trucks, possibly Powerflex? I’ll check sometime. I wouldn’t mind a longboard, I’m too old for fannying around on a regular sized board these days, and I was never much cop back when I bought my orginal board anyway!
Any thread that mentions Hosoi must include this picture. Them's the laws.
^^^^^^
For Christ’s sake!